Today, I learned all about the art of questioning. As math teachers, we should never give answers or tell students that they're right...they'll shut off their brains. Make students work together to find solutions. Give them the tools they need to problem-solve and check their own work so that they build confidence in math ability.
What else did we explore? Make use of manipulatives whenever possible! We learn every other subject by starting with concrete information and examples and move to abstract thoughts and concepts. Why do we teach math the other way around? So, by using manipulatives as tangible, concrete examples, we can begin to shift math teaching to align with the way the human brain is accustomed to learning.
I'm still wondering about a few theories. If students rely on the use of manipulatives on tests, then how will they solve the problems on standardized tests? How do we build a community that doesn't judge a student because they still need to use manipulatives to solve problems? Also, we can be very "sly" to use tricks like think-pair-share so that students are held accountable for their group members' success, but that still doesn't negate the social issues that middle school students are going through and the feeling that students are at differing abilities if they use different math problem-solving strategies.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Math Week 1: ...Say what?
I love hearing how different people solve math problems! It always seems that no matter how many different ways you come up with to solve a problem, there are always other people who have figured it out using another method. In today's class, I learned that we need to build a supportive, patient classroom community so that all of our students are comfortable sharing their mathematical thinking.
I am still questioning the use of cards/randomness to call on students to share their ideas. I liked the way that this tool was used at the beginning of each activity, to break the ice, and then substituted with "does anyone have a different way of solving this?" so that we didn't see too many repeat answers. Nevertheless, even though our classroom environment is very supportive, there still seems to be nervousness when it comes to sharing our mathematical thinking with our classmates.
The activities that we did today were extremely engaging and inspired exploration and learning. This type of activity will be a great tool to use in our future math classrooms. The bonus is that these activities truly cover all of the state standards!
I am still questioning the use of cards/randomness to call on students to share their ideas. I liked the way that this tool was used at the beginning of each activity, to break the ice, and then substituted with "does anyone have a different way of solving this?" so that we didn't see too many repeat answers. Nevertheless, even though our classroom environment is very supportive, there still seems to be nervousness when it comes to sharing our mathematical thinking with our classmates.
The activities that we did today were extremely engaging and inspired exploration and learning. This type of activity will be a great tool to use in our future math classrooms. The bonus is that these activities truly cover all of the state standards!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Privacy, Please
With all the other communication options out there, it's a wonder that blogging still exists.
In many ways, Twitter and Facebook have dominated the market for communication between us and our vast number of friends. These tools allow us to express our feelings about the latest news in our lives and broadcast them to a huge audience of, theoretically, people who care about us.
Blogging differs only insomuch as there is an expectation that you will write more than a couple of sentences. Also, it is a medium for which you can choose to be anonymous...although one could argue as to the effectiveness of this (since most of you reading this know who I am). I think that blogging is the best (and maybe only) tool online that is most similar to keeping a journal. My only huff is that I wouldn't want people snooping around in my journals...so why would I want them to read my blog?
Nevertheless, blogs, along with all the other technological fancies we've used this quarter, are yet another tool for us evaluate whether we want to pursue or not. Certainly, as teachers, blogging does enable us to become one step closer to forming a professional community. However, I think that there are more effective tools that we could use to form that professional alliance, maybe even wikis or a simple discussion forum platform.
Somehow, despite these months of writing publicly, I still feel that the words here ought to be more private. I suppose that's why Blogger gives you the option of customizing your audience.
In many ways, Twitter and Facebook have dominated the market for communication between us and our vast number of friends. These tools allow us to express our feelings about the latest news in our lives and broadcast them to a huge audience of, theoretically, people who care about us.
Blogging differs only insomuch as there is an expectation that you will write more than a couple of sentences. Also, it is a medium for which you can choose to be anonymous...although one could argue as to the effectiveness of this (since most of you reading this know who I am). I think that blogging is the best (and maybe only) tool online that is most similar to keeping a journal. My only huff is that I wouldn't want people snooping around in my journals...so why would I want them to read my blog?
Nevertheless, blogs, along with all the other technological fancies we've used this quarter, are yet another tool for us evaluate whether we want to pursue or not. Certainly, as teachers, blogging does enable us to become one step closer to forming a professional community. However, I think that there are more effective tools that we could use to form that professional alliance, maybe even wikis or a simple discussion forum platform.
Somehow, despite these months of writing publicly, I still feel that the words here ought to be more private. I suppose that's why Blogger gives you the option of customizing your audience.
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